Product News: The latest chipset products from MSI, Corsair, Asus, Kingston, Seagate and Intel

ARN reviews chipset products

MSI X58 Pro

For performance, the launch of Intel’s Corei7 quad-core processors and the X58 chipset drew a lot of attention from people looking for high-end performance, but came at a high entry cost, MSI claims. The X58 Pro is a follow-up to the previously released Eclipse and Platinum series of X59 main boards, and is designed to meet the demands of gamers and other media-intensive enthusiasts at a reasonable price point. This feature-rich main board for overclockers has switches for easy-to use overclocking, on-board reset and power switches, DrMOS and Active Phase Switching (APS) technology for cleaner power and lower temperatures, a split cooling system and ATI’s CrossFireX multi-GPU solution. The X58 Pro features ultra-high bandwidth Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) transmission system and support for high-speed three-channel DDR3 memory. It also has three x16 PCI Express graphics slots that support multi-graphics operating, and offers on-board eSATA 3Gbps interface for plug-and-play storage.

Distributed by Ingram Micro and TodayTech.

RRP $349


Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3 1866MHz

Aimed at the enthusiast market, the Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3 1866MHz triple channel kit is an ultra high performing memory module, the vendor claims. It includes XMP technology for optimum overclocking for Intel X58 chipset, DHX technology with Corsair air fl ow fan for maximum cooling and latencies of 9-9-9- 24 at 1.65V, and comes backed by a lifetime warranty. For enthusiasts, DDR3 memory has become an important and integral part of the Core i7 eco-system. Though not required for Core i7, it does offer users the option to go for triple channel memory, instead of dual-channel memory, offering better memory performance and bandwidth down on the table, and as games and applications become more intensive, Corsair claims. The additional memory also aims to allow the motherboard to function at capacity longer.

Distributed by Altech Computers.

RRP $799


Asus M4A79T Deluxe

This motherboard is designed with an additional one to two power phases dedicated to the CPU embedded memory and HT controller. The M4A79T Deluxe also features the energy processing unit (EPU) function, a popular feature in the Asus P5Q series launch, on an AMD platform. EPU technology provides total system power management by detecting PC loadings and intelligently moderating power in real-time. The M4 Series also uses high quality 5000-hour long lifespan capacitors (at 105ºC working temperatures) that improve power effi ciency and lower system temperatures, providing a d u r a b l e working environment and better overclocking capabilities. The Asus Turbo Key transforms the PC power button into a physical overclocking button, and the set-up tools provide users with the ability to boost performance levels by pushing a button. Hardcore users can take advantage of TurboV, an advanced overclocking tool that uses a microcontroller to provide precise 0.02V voltage adjustments. Users can also save their preferred overclocking profi les and apply the best settings for different scenarios.

Distributed by Synnex and Ingram Micro.

RRP $399

Kingston SSDNow M

The SSDNow M solid-state drive has been built for performance in notebook PCs, and offers increased performance due to impressive input and output operations per second (IOPS). This allows for faster boot times and quicker application load times, which help mobile power users become even more productive. Features include a 2.5-inch form factor, 250MBps read times and 70MBps write times. Kingston’s SSDNow uses a standard SATA hard disk drive interface but unlike a hard disk, the drive is rugged and can withstand shock and extreme environments as there are no moving parts. M Series drives are equipped with Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T) to monitor the integrity and reliability of the drives. Containing up to 80GB in memory, the drives are backed by a three-year warranty and free tech support. The vendor has also released the SSDNow E series, which has been specifi cally designed for the enterprise server environment.

Distributed by Avnet, Ingram Micro, Simms International and Synnex.

RRP From $1079


Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 HD

Designed for workstations, desktop RAID, gaming PCs, high-end PCs, mainstream PCs and USB/ FireWire/eSATA external storage, the Barracuda 7200.12 HD offers 1TB of capacity on two disks. The 3.5-inch 7200rpm drive features a real density of 329 Gigabits per square inch to deliver the best combination of capacity, performance and reliability for PCs, desktop RAID and personal external storage. This HD combines the storage capacity and speed required for today’s most demanding desktop PC applications. The drive’s Serial ATA 3Gbps interface delivers a sustained data rate of up to 160MBps for fast boot, application startup and fi le access and a burst speed of 3Gbps. The 3.5-inch drive is also offered in capacities of 750GB and 500GB with cache options of 32MB and 16MB. The drive increases capacity and dependability by storing data vertically, rather than horizontally – with vertically stored data bits meaning increased data density, which in turn means higher performance to increase productivity.

Distributed by Ingram Micro.

RRP From $149


Intel Core i7M

The i7 processor is intended for high-end desktop systems. It features new technologies that boost performance on demand and maximise data throughput. The Core i7 processor speeds up high-performance tasks including video editing, immersive games and other popular Internet and computer activities by up to 40 per cent without increasing power consumption. Features include: Intel Turbo Boost technology, which maximises speed for demanding applications, dynamically accelerating performance to match workload; Intel Hyper-Threading technology, which enables highly threaded applications to get more work done in parallel; Intel Smart Cache, which provides a higher-performance, more effi cient cache subsystem, optimised for industry leading multi-threaded games; Intel QuickPath Interconnect, which is designed for increased bandwidth and low latency. It can achieve data transfer speeds as high as 25.6GB/sec with the Extreme Edition processor. Intel HD Boost signifi cantly improves a broad range of multimedia and compute-intensive applications. The 128-bit SSE instructions are issued at a throughput rate of one per clock cycle, allowing a new level of processing effi ciency with SSE4 optimised applications.

Distributed by Altech Computers, Leader Computer.

RRP On Application

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Tags intelseagateCore i7asusmsikingstoncorsairbarracudax58 prodominatorssdnow mm4a79t

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ARN Staff

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